Fall plate mechanism

ABSTRACT

THE FALL PLATE OF A RASCHEL KNITTING MACHINE IS MOVED TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE NEEDLES BY A HINGED LINKAGE DRIVEN BY THE MAIN CAMSHAFT OF THE MACHINE. ONE OF THE PIVOT PINS IN THE LINKAGE IS RADIALLY SLIDABLE IN AN ELONGATED SLOT ARRANGED IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THE STROKE OF THE FALL PLATE CAN BE REDUCED AND THE FALL PLATE HELD INOPERATIVE BY SHIFTING THE PIVOT PIN IN THE SLOT IN SYNCHRONIZATION WITH THE CAM ACTION. A CONNECTING ROD ACTUATED BY THE PATTERNING MECHANISM SHIFTS THE PIVOT PIN.

Feb. 9, 1971 K. l (OHL FALL PLATE MECHANISM Filed July 15, 1969INVENTORI KARL Mam.

(1714 AGENT United States Patent FALL PLATE MECHANISM Karl Kohl,Offenbacher Landstrasse 20,

Hainstadt am Main. Germany Filed July 15, 1969, Ser. No. 841,853

Claims priority, application Germany, July 25, 1968, P 17 60 964.2 Int.Cl. D04b 27/00 US. CI. 66-86 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Thefall plate of a Raschel knitting machine is moved toward and away fromthe needles by a hinged linkage driven by the main camshaft of themachine. One of the pivot pins in the linkage is radially slidable in anelongated slot arranged in such a manner that the stroke of the fallplate can be reduced and the fall plate held inoperative by shifting thepivot pin in the slot in synchronization with the cam action. Aconnecting rod actuated by the patterning mechanism shifts the pivotpin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to Warp knittingmachines, and particularly to a fall plate mechanism for such a knittingmachine.

Fall plates are attached on the guide bar assembly for joint swingingmotion with the guide bars, and are depressed by a fall plate mechanismat right angles to the common direction of guide bar elongation, theconventional mechanism mainly consisting of a cam shaft, usually themain cam shaft of the machine, a cam on the shaft, and a motiontransmitting train of arms and levers which connects the fall plateassembly with a cam follower cooperating with the cam.

The known fall plate mechanisms are relatively complex and costly, andit is difiicult, if at all possible, to vary the pattern of fall platemovement.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a fall platemechanism which is simpler than those in use heretofore, and whichreadily permits any desired control of the fall plate movements so thatthe fall plate may be employed for patterning purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention mainly resides in the fall platemechanism, and particularly in the motio transmitting train of a warpknitting machine which connects the machine drive with a fall plateassembly, the machine being conventionally equipped with a frame, guidebars elongated in a common direction and mounted on the frame for jointswinging motion in a plane transverse to that common direction, and apatterning mechanism for longitudinally moving each guide bar. The fallplate assembly, which includes the fall plate proper, is mounted on theframe for swinging motion with the guide bars and is moved by the fallplate mechanism in a direction transverse to the common direction ofguide bar mechanism.

According to this invention, the motion transmitting train includes aplurality of links connected by pivots in sequence to form a chain whosefirst and last links are pivotally connected to the fall plate assemblyand to the drive. The group of pivotally connected elements constitutedby the fall plate assembly, the chain of links, and the drive includestwo elements of which one carries a pivot pin whereas the other one isformed with an elongated opening receiving the pin for rotation aboutits axis and for radial translatory movement. The pivot pin is connectedto the patterning mechanism for causing 3,561,233 Patented Feb. 9, 1971BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a Raschel knitting machine equipped with a fall platemechanism in fragmentary front elevation; and

FIGS. 2 and 3 show respective modification of a detail of the apparatusof FIG. 1 in corresponding views on a larger scale.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring initially to FIG. 1,there is seen only as much of a raschel knitting machine as is neededfor an understanding of the invention the non illustrated portion beingentirely conventional.

An upright push-rod 1 is connected with a cam follower traveling over acam on the main cam shaft of the machine in the usual manner, not shown,so that the push rod reciprocates longitudinally, as indicated by thedouble arrow 2, when the machine operates. A bellcrank lever 3 is rockedby the pushrod 1, as will presently be described in more detail, and ishingedly linked by a long connecting rod 4 to another bell-crank lever 5on the guidebar assembly of which only a bracket 17 is seen in thedrawing. A hanger bar 6 pivotally mounted on the lever 5 and guided inthe bracket 17 carries the fall plate 7. The fall plate moves up anddown as indicated by the arrow 8, when the push rod 1 is driven.

The push-rod 1 is connected with the lever 3 by a pivot pin 9 on thepush-rod which engages a slot 10 in one arm of the lever 3. The slot 10is elongated in a direction which is radial relative to the fulcrum axisof the lever and transverse to the direction of push-rod movement. Theslot 10 is wide enough to permit rotation of the pin 9 about its axiswith the necessary small clearance, and permits translatory movement ofthe pin transverse to the direction of push-rod movement and radialrelative to the pin axis.

The head of the push-rod 1 to which the pin 9 is secured is hingedlylinked by a rod 11 to a lever 12, identical in structure and functionwith the non-illustrated shogging levers of the machine whichlongitudinally move the guide bars omitted from FIG. 1 for the sake ofclarity. The lever 12 is pivoted on the machine frame by a pattern chain13 engaging a hardened steel roller 18 on the lever 12 and trained overa pattern drum 19 from which the shogging movements of thenonillustrated guide bars are also derived in a manner not illustratedand conventional in itself.

Modified details of the pivotal connection between the push-rod 1, thebellcrank lever 3, and the rod 11 of the patterning mechanism are shownin FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the head of the push-rod 1 is linked by a pivot 9ato a slide 14 guided in the slot 10 for translatory movement radial tothe axis of the pin 9a on which the rod 1 is pivotally secured. Links ofthe pattern chain 13, not explicitly shown, cause the slide 14 to movebetween the two ends of the slot 10 whereby the push-rod 1 may movebetween the two positions thereof illustrated in fully drawn and inbroken lines, respectively. When the push-rod 1 is oscillatedlongitudinally by the machine drive, the lever 5 oscillates angularly,as indicated by curved arrows 16, 16a, the

3 amplitude of the lever oscillation at constant amplitude of push-rodoscillation being inversely proportional to the distance between the pin9a on the slide 14 and the fulcrum of the lever 3.

In the further modified linkage seen in FIG. 3, the arm of the lever 3to which the push-rod 1 is secured has a circular opening in which adisc 15 is rotatably mounted. A pivot pin 9b hingedly fastens the headof the push-rod 1 and one end of the rod 11 to a circumferential portionof the disc 15. The disc 15 is turned in the lever 3 by the rod 11 inresponse to engagement of a suitable link of the chain 13 with theroller 18 to shift the push-rod 1 toward and away from the lever fulcrumbetween the positions shown in fully drawn and in brokn lines.

The common mode of operation of the several illustrated embodiments ofthe invention will be described with specific reference to FIG. 2. Letit be assumed that the fall plate 7 is in its raised, inoperativeposition when the push rod 1 is in the position near the lever fulcrumshown in fully-drawn lines. As long as the slide 14 remains in thecorresponding position, the fall plate 7 is depressed into its operativeposition when the push rod 1 moves upwardly and the lever swings asindicated by the arrow 16a. If a high link on the pattern chain 13pivots the shogging lever 12 counter-clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 1,during the upward movement of the push-rod 11, the push-rod head isshifted into the position illustrated in broken lines, the resultingangular movement of the lever 3 in the direction of the arrow 16 atleast partly cancels the effect of the push-rod movement, and the fallplate 7 either remains in its inoperative position, or does not move farenough toward the operative position to effect the knitted yarn.

The motion transmitting train in the fall plate mechanism of theinvention thus permits the fall plate to be controlled by the patternmechanism of the machine for activating the fall plate in eachindividual course of the fabric or leave it inactive to produce patternsnot available with conventional fall plate mechanism which depress thefall plate in the knitting of each course or not at all.

The illustrated chain of hingedly connected links 3, 4, has been foundmost convenient for achieving the objects of this invention in a simplemanner, but it will be appreciated that a different motion transmittingmechanism may be similarly controlled by shifting a pivot pin betweentwo pivotally connected elements radially to its axis in response tooperation of the patterning mechanism. The latter may assume anyconventional form other than that specifically illustrated, and themechanism chosen for the purpose of the invention may be modified toshift a pivot pin remote from the push-rod 1 or its equivalent in thedrive mechanism.

What is claimed is:

1. In a warp knitting machine having a frame, guide bars elongated in acommon direction and mounted on said frame for joint swinging motion ina plane transverse to said direction, a patterning mechanism forlongitudinally moving each guide bar, a full plate assembly mounted forswing motion with said guide bars and including a fall plate member, anda fall plate mechanism for moving the fall plate member in a directiontransverse to said common direction, the fall plate m anism includingdrive means on said frame, and motion transmitting means connecting saiddrive means to said fall plate assembly, the improvement in said motiontransmitting means which comprises:

(a) a plurality of links;

(b) a plurality of pivots respectively connecting said links in sequenceto form a chain of links, and connecting the first and last link of saidchain to said fall plate assembly and to said drive means, whereby saidfall plate assembly, said chain, and said drive means constitute a groupof pivotally connected elements,

(1) one of the pivots connecting two of said elements including a pivotpin having an axis and secured to one of said two elements, the other ofsaid two elements being formed with an opening receiving said pivot pinfor rotation about said axis and for radial translatory movement; and

(0) connecting means connecting said pivot pin to said patterningmechanism for causing said translatory movement in respose to operationof said patterning mechanism.

2. In a machine as set forth in claim 1, said one pivot including guidemeans guiding said radial movement transversely of the direction ofmovement of said one element when said drive means move said last link.

3. In a machine as set forth in claim 2, said patterning mechanismincluding a movable pattern chain and said connecting means including arod member fastened to said pivot pin and a lever engaging said chainand operatively connected to said rod member.

4. In a machine as set forth in claim 2, said drive means including apush rod oscillating longitudinally r when said drive means operate,said last link being a lever having an arm and a fulcrum, said arm beingformed with said opening.

5. In a machine as set forth in claim 4, said opening being elongated,and said guide means including a slide member longitudinally movable insaid opening, said pivot pin engaging said slide member, said rod memberbeing secured to said slide member for moving the same longitudinally insaid opening.

6. In a machine as set forth in claim 4, said guide means including aguide member angularly displaceable in said opening, said pivot pinengaging said guide member, said rod member being secured to said guidemember for angularly displacing the same in said opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,350,901 11/1967 Noe 66863,446,039 5/1969 Schmid 6686 3,469,419 9/1969 Kohl 6686X FOREIGN PATENTS1,133,418 11/1968 Great Britain 6686 OTHER REFERENCES Co-We-Nit, B.Wheatley, Knitted Outerwear Times, vols. 37, No. 40, pp. 57 to 61, Sept.23, 1968.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner

